Thursday, July 11, 2002

 

A recommendation from The Brahma....
Today, a day that grazed the 102-degree mark, I will mention a video that a friend lent me called "Genghis Blues". It is a documentary about the strange saga of blind blues musician, Paul Pena. While most of us wouldn't recognize his name, he has played and recorded with such stars as, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Bonnie Raitt, just to name a few. He also wrote the song that Steve Miller made famous that goes....."Big ol' jet air-lin-er....Takin' me so far away....".
While listening to his short wave radio one night, he heard a strange intriguing sound emanating from a station in central Asia. An investigation revealed it to be from the country of Tuva. It was a type of singing called throat singing, that involves one person singing in multiple octaves. It is a very strange sound to the Western ear. Paul masters this art, then a series of events happen that make it possible for him to travel half way around the world to compete in the prestigious search for the best Tuvan throat singer in the world!
Although it dragged a little about 20 minutes before the end, it was well worth the experience. Brahma sez; check it out.

posted by ~Brahma 12:05 AM